Hi Family!
Well, the Transfer Van was rollin', rollin', rollin' this week. We spent most of our time driving all over the state. Transfers only left four companionships (including ours) unaffected, so we transferred everybody and their dog. It meant we had to drive the minivan and the transfer van and a car or two along most of the route in order to accommodate everyone. Not to mention the mess of figuring out where to keep the trainers for a couple days until they picked up their new missionaries. We survived, though, and got everyone where they needed to be (although some of them left their stuff here and there).
Taking the departing missionaries to the airport was strange yet again. I'm running out of companions in the mission field. I lost Elder Aaron Smith this time. I get a little hiatus until July when Elder Morales goes home, though. The strangest part is having Sister Jones constantly remind us that we're not very far from doing the same thing - she seems to think it's funny to have us tell her what a long time 5 months is and how she doesn't even need to start thinking about it yet.
Our investigators are all doing well. Lindsey, Levi, and Charles are still on track for baptism next month and they're excited for General Conference this weekend! We weren't able to meet with Gulam (the man with an Islamic upbringing) this week because he was sick, but we did see him briefly and give him a Swahili copy of the Book of Mormon. He is definitely taking learning about the church very seriously.
Not much else to report.
I love you all. Have a great week!
Elder Joseph Cloward
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
What a Week!
Hi family!
What a week! We have been ridiculously busy but the Lord has blessed us immensely and we have seen His tender mercies and many mighty miracles in our lives and in our work this week!
Miracle #1 - My March Madness bracket is doing better than Elder Barney's or President Jones'. It must be pure luck, since I haven't been able to watch a basketball game all season!
Miracle #2 - We got transfers all figured out! After transfer meetings every morning Tuesday - Thursday, we finally had everybody in place. It's fascinating to work with President Jones on the transfer. Sometimes the revelation he receives is very clear and other times the Lord leaves it to him to work out a little bit. As I asked the Lord in faith, however, he blessed me with the assurance of the Spirit that President Jones' transfer decisions were made according to His will.
Anyway, after figuring out who would go where, it was up to Elder Barney and me to figure out how and when. Only four companionships in the mission (including ours) are unaffected by this transfer because we have ten missionaries going home and eleven coming out. It's going to be wild. We have, for instance, 15 extra missionaries that have to spend the night in Lansing tonight. It will be another miracle if the transfer goes smoothly. I'll let you know next week, I guess.
Miracle #3 - Gulam Kobora! He's Muslim, and a Fulbright Scholar from Tanzania teaching Swahili at MSU. Several months ago, Elder Barney talked with him on campus and set up a time to meet and discuss the message of the restored gospel. He didn't show up for the appointment and they couldn't contact him, so Elder Barney figured he wasn't interested. Out of the blue, he called us on Thursday and asked us if we could meet up with him, so we set up an appointment for Saturday. The lesson was amazing!
Of all the people I have ever taught, Gulam may be the most "elect". He is honestly searching for the truth; he told us that he feels the truth of God is in the world somewhere and he wants to find it so he can live according to it, no matter what church it may mean he must join. He was raised as a Muslim but while living for the past year in the U.S. he has become very confused by the many different doctrines and ideas he has now heard from many different religions. He asked us amazing questions, like, "Who is God? Is He a tangible being with a physical body or is He somehow everywhere and in everything?". He understood better than anyone I have ever taught what we mean by "authority of God" and was fascinated by the recurring pattern of apostasy and restoration. After Elder Barney recounted Joseph Smith's First Vision, Gulam stopped us and told us he needed us to slow down because he felt we had reached a turning point in the lesson and he really wanted to understand what we would say from that point on because it was likely the most important part of our message. The Spirit was exceptionally strong as we testified of the Book of Mormon and promised him that he would come to know for himself that our message was true as he prayed and asked God if it was.
And, "conveniently", we have access to two Swahili-speaking members, one in our ward who is working on a Ph.D. in African Studies and one who is a return missionary (from Kenya, which includes Tanzania) and the brother of a member of our ward. :D
Miracle #4 - Stake Conference was amazing! The Spirit taught me so much that I needed to know for my personal development and growth and for my continued service to others. Some things that really stuck out to me were:
A) President Winder's discussion of covenants as a partnership with God (President Winder is one of the counselors in the Stake Presidency) -- it totally synergized so many of the thoughts and ideas that have been floating around in my mind for months and years.
B) President Ritchie's declaration that, through our covenants, as we personally bring our best efforts we can save our families. (President Ritchie is an incredible Stake President; he's a dynamic leader and a powerful speaker and teacher. It probably helps that he's a professor at MSU).
I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers!
Elder Joseph Cloward
What a week! We have been ridiculously busy but the Lord has blessed us immensely and we have seen His tender mercies and many mighty miracles in our lives and in our work this week!
Miracle #1 - My March Madness bracket is doing better than Elder Barney's or President Jones'. It must be pure luck, since I haven't been able to watch a basketball game all season!
Miracle #2 - We got transfers all figured out! After transfer meetings every morning Tuesday - Thursday, we finally had everybody in place. It's fascinating to work with President Jones on the transfer. Sometimes the revelation he receives is very clear and other times the Lord leaves it to him to work out a little bit. As I asked the Lord in faith, however, he blessed me with the assurance of the Spirit that President Jones' transfer decisions were made according to His will.
Anyway, after figuring out who would go where, it was up to Elder Barney and me to figure out how and when. Only four companionships in the mission (including ours) are unaffected by this transfer because we have ten missionaries going home and eleven coming out. It's going to be wild. We have, for instance, 15 extra missionaries that have to spend the night in Lansing tonight. It will be another miracle if the transfer goes smoothly. I'll let you know next week, I guess.
Miracle #3 - Gulam Kobora! He's Muslim, and a Fulbright Scholar from Tanzania teaching Swahili at MSU. Several months ago, Elder Barney talked with him on campus and set up a time to meet and discuss the message of the restored gospel. He didn't show up for the appointment and they couldn't contact him, so Elder Barney figured he wasn't interested. Out of the blue, he called us on Thursday and asked us if we could meet up with him, so we set up an appointment for Saturday. The lesson was amazing!
Of all the people I have ever taught, Gulam may be the most "elect". He is honestly searching for the truth; he told us that he feels the truth of God is in the world somewhere and he wants to find it so he can live according to it, no matter what church it may mean he must join. He was raised as a Muslim but while living for the past year in the U.S. he has become very confused by the many different doctrines and ideas he has now heard from many different religions. He asked us amazing questions, like, "Who is God? Is He a tangible being with a physical body or is He somehow everywhere and in everything?". He understood better than anyone I have ever taught what we mean by "authority of God" and was fascinated by the recurring pattern of apostasy and restoration. After Elder Barney recounted Joseph Smith's First Vision, Gulam stopped us and told us he needed us to slow down because he felt we had reached a turning point in the lesson and he really wanted to understand what we would say from that point on because it was likely the most important part of our message. The Spirit was exceptionally strong as we testified of the Book of Mormon and promised him that he would come to know for himself that our message was true as he prayed and asked God if it was.
And, "conveniently", we have access to two Swahili-speaking members, one in our ward who is working on a Ph.D. in African Studies and one who is a return missionary (from Kenya, which includes Tanzania) and the brother of a member of our ward. :D
Miracle #4 - Stake Conference was amazing! The Spirit taught me so much that I needed to know for my personal development and growth and for my continued service to others. Some things that really stuck out to me were:
A) President Winder's discussion of covenants as a partnership with God (President Winder is one of the counselors in the Stake Presidency) -- it totally synergized so many of the thoughts and ideas that have been floating around in my mind for months and years.
B) President Ritchie's declaration that, through our covenants, as we personally bring our best efforts we can save our families. (President Ritchie is an incredible Stake President; he's a dynamic leader and a powerful speaker and teacher. It probably helps that he's a professor at MSU).
I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers!
Elder Joseph Cloward
Monday, March 15, 2010
Hey Howdy Hey
Hi mom and dad,
I spent most of my email time looking at course descriptions, so I don't have time to send a newsy email.
Love you bunches,
elder Cloward
I spent most of my email time looking at course descriptions, so I don't have time to send a newsy email.
Love you bunches,
elder Cloward
Monday, March 8, 2010
Trade-offs and New Investigators
Hi Family!
We had a very busy and very good week. I wasn't really at MSU much Wednesday through Saturday because of companion exchanges but more on that later. As a frame for our work this week, we had a Tuesday morning teleconference from President Jones' office with all of the zone leaders in the mission. For months and months we have recognized that our Achilles' heel as a mission is our inability to effectively find people to teach. We know they're out there but there is something we're not doing that we need to do in order to connect with them. President Jones laid out his expectation that every companionship in the mission find at least one new investigator this week (we've hovered around having just more than half find a new investigator each week). The zone leaders went to work in their zones, even blitzing areas to help make sure it happened everywhere, and the result was 76 new investigators for 57 companionships. We were very excited. The challenge will come this week as the bar is raised to two new investigators per companionship. I'm confident we can do it.
I was in Greenville with Elder Perazzo on Wednesday for an exchange and got to meet some very cool people there. We taught a man named Matt for the first time, who had requested a copy of the Book of Mormon because he had an uncle who was Mormon with whom he was always impressed. He knew next to nothing about us or our beliefs, but he said he admired his uncle's serenity and wondered how he obtained it. We told him. :) It was a good lesson. We also had a lesson with a recent convert, named Millie, who is amazing! She shared an experience she had in one of her first Gospel Principles Sunday School classes. As the class talked about why we do missionary work, one of the active members expressed her feeling that she so frequently falls short in fulfilling her responsibility to share the gospel. Millie stood up and told her with tears running down her cheeks: "Don't worry about it. Don't get upset or frustrated. What you people do got me here and you'd better keep doing it because there are more Millie's out there and you've got to go find us!"
After a couple hours stop in Lansing after driving back from Greenville on Thursday, we headed up to Petoskey for a Friday blitz. I spent the day with Elder Richardson. It was very weird to be back in my first area. It brought back all kinds of memories. I was very grateful for the opportunity. We had some really good lessons there as well.
In our area, we started teaching a way cool girl named Andrea. She told us she feels like God is trying to tell her something but she can't figure out what it is. We encouraged her to ponder and pray and we're seeing her again on Thursday. We also set a baptismal date with Levi, who loves the Book of Mormon. I was on exchange during the lesson, but he was apparently geeking out over King Benjamin's sermon. I'm pretty excited for him.
I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and support!
-Elder Joseph Cloward
We had a very busy and very good week. I wasn't really at MSU much Wednesday through Saturday because of companion exchanges but more on that later. As a frame for our work this week, we had a Tuesday morning teleconference from President Jones' office with all of the zone leaders in the mission. For months and months we have recognized that our Achilles' heel as a mission is our inability to effectively find people to teach. We know they're out there but there is something we're not doing that we need to do in order to connect with them. President Jones laid out his expectation that every companionship in the mission find at least one new investigator this week (we've hovered around having just more than half find a new investigator each week). The zone leaders went to work in their zones, even blitzing areas to help make sure it happened everywhere, and the result was 76 new investigators for 57 companionships. We were very excited. The challenge will come this week as the bar is raised to two new investigators per companionship. I'm confident we can do it.
I was in Greenville with Elder Perazzo on Wednesday for an exchange and got to meet some very cool people there. We taught a man named Matt for the first time, who had requested a copy of the Book of Mormon because he had an uncle who was Mormon with whom he was always impressed. He knew next to nothing about us or our beliefs, but he said he admired his uncle's serenity and wondered how he obtained it. We told him. :) It was a good lesson. We also had a lesson with a recent convert, named Millie, who is amazing! She shared an experience she had in one of her first Gospel Principles Sunday School classes. As the class talked about why we do missionary work, one of the active members expressed her feeling that she so frequently falls short in fulfilling her responsibility to share the gospel. Millie stood up and told her with tears running down her cheeks: "Don't worry about it. Don't get upset or frustrated. What you people do got me here and you'd better keep doing it because there are more Millie's out there and you've got to go find us!"
After a couple hours stop in Lansing after driving back from Greenville on Thursday, we headed up to Petoskey for a Friday blitz. I spent the day with Elder Richardson. It was very weird to be back in my first area. It brought back all kinds of memories. I was very grateful for the opportunity. We had some really good lessons there as well.
In our area, we started teaching a way cool girl named Andrea. She told us she feels like God is trying to tell her something but she can't figure out what it is. We encouraged her to ponder and pray and we're seeing her again on Thursday. We also set a baptismal date with Levi, who loves the Book of Mormon. I was on exchange during the lesson, but he was apparently geeking out over King Benjamin's sermon. I'm pretty excited for him.
I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and support!
-Elder Joseph Cloward
Monday, March 1, 2010
Another Week in Paradise
Hi family!
Sorry I don't have a ton of time to write this week. I spent most of my email time trying to figure out what in the world I've got to do in order to be able to advance register for fall classes in a couple of weeks. It's a little bit challenging when everything is online and I only get an hour of internet use each week. Registration doesn't end until April, though, so I'm not stressing about it just yet. At least not too much. :)
This was a great week. I think I'll just share a few of my favorite experiences.
Saturday morning, I went with Elder Rawlings to teach our Chinese friend, Xifu. He had been reading the Book of Mormon and had lots of questions, which always makes a lesson more fun. We talked about how the only way to know if the book is true is to pray and ask God. Xifu had not prayed before, so we taught him some of the basic steps of prayer and then he offered the best prayer I've ever heard in my life. The Spirit powerfully filled the room as he sincerely asked the Lord if the Book of Mormon was true and as he asked God to help him understand the things he is studying in English because the culture and language in the United States are so foreign to him. It was one of the best lessons I've ever been a part of as a missionary.
Lindsey, a girl we've taught the past few weeks, is doing really well. She is planning to be baptized on April 17th but is having some real challenges because her parents aren't exactly thrilled about it. Her mom is okay with it after we met with her and Lindsey both last week, but her dad hates the idea. In spite of some arguments they've had, she continues to tell us that she's feeling happier than she has ever felt in her life, she loves coming to church, and she knows that the things we are teaching are true. She was in church yesterday and got a priesthood blessing because she was feeling sick.
We began teaching a member's boyfriend named Levi this week. He's way cool! He has already read a lot of the Book of Mormon and believes that it is true. He said that our message makes a lot of sense. I'm excited to see him again this Wednesday. Should be a good lesson.
Love you all! Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Elder Cloward
P.S. Plus: pictures with the new missionaries (above) and the Kalamazoo elders' car buried in the snow!
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